People group profile · PG016458
The Baniwa of Venezuela
The Baniwa of Venezuela, numbering about 3,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Arawakan people, also called Walimanai, of the upper Rio Negro and Orinoco borderlands who fiercely resisted 18th-century Portuguese slave raids along the river and today live across the tri-border area shared by Venezuela, Brazil, and Colombia.
They are an indigenous people in the Amazon people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion, and they primarily speak Baniwa.
Fast facts
- Country
- Venezuela
- Population
- 3,000
- Affinity group
- American Peoples
- People cluster
- Amazon
- Primary language
- Baniwa (bwi)
- Primary religion
- Ethnoreligion
- Strategic Progress Index
- Engaged yet Unreached
- Evangelical
- No Known Evangelicals
- GSEC
- Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
- Lostness priority
- Frontier Unreached People Group
- Region
- South America, Americas
- Location
- Amazonas: Colombia border area, between Curipaco [kpc] and Guarequena [gae] language areas
Where they live
Gospel status
The Baniwa are Engaged yet Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, but there are sustained efforts to establish self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.
- Congregations exist No
- Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted
Next steps for the Baniwa
- Continue prayer and fasting for this group
- Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
- Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people
Primary religion
Primary language
Baniwa · Arawakan family
17% speak Baniwa
Gospel resources in Baniwa
- Bible available, published 1985
- JESUS Film not available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Baniwa
- Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
- Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
- 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
- Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
Baniwa in other countries
The same people (ROP3 100999) is reported in 1 other country.
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